Commander Gree - TCW [R] - Basic (CW09)

This clone commander leads the Elite Corps and serves under Jedi General Yoda during the Clone Wars. His armor bears the distinct markings of the 41st Elite Corps, a unit Gree has nicknamed "Green Company."

We admit it. We love Commander Gree so we doubt we can guarantee impartiality in this review. We are privileged to finally receive Commander Gree in his pre-Episode III gear, as a phase I clone trooper. You might be surprised, but this action figure is first-rate and probably champions the line so far as one of the best figures yet! Hasbro has "done us real good" with him and he is no doubt getting love from others as he doesn't sit on the pegs too long. And although it is really nothing more than a repaint with some extra parts, the final product is striking and functions in The Clone Wars line as a remarkable and standout addition. Probably the simplest way to describe his appearance in the television show would be to say he is a dark green version of Commander Bly. For he has solid green armor on his thighs, the signature chest stripe down his middle front and a widening stripe from the bottom to the top of his helmet. It is nice to see a quasi-familiar pattern orchestrated in 'Gree-n' style although we wish that his battalion had a little more detail on them than the obligatory arm and helmet stripes (and as a result not looking much different that a clone trooper sergeant from Episode II). Once his comely helmet is removed, a distinct head sculpt (with a very distinct haircut) is evident. Hasbro expertly recreated the portrait identically to what was seen in the television series. Hasbro's sculptors nailed this one! Gree has a shaved head with two brown tracks atop his crown that meet at a point at the posterior bottom of his head. This attention to detail is a more than impressive execution by Hasbro and we congratulate them! It is truly a remarkable task for Hasbro to "un-clone" the clones to give them unique personality and distinction while really only working with one template. But of course, we have to also give credit to Dave Filoni first. Hasbro is merely replicating was what previously established by the television show. (But we rave because they have done it so well!)

Gree also comes with a bandolier (a new accessory) that nicely drapes across his chest. It does move around a bit but holds close enough to his body to be a very effective accessory. This little extra adds a great deal of additional characterization to him and something would definitely be lacking were it not in place. He also comes with two guns including the standard larger blaster rifle and a heavy assault blaster that has the typical action feature of a spring loaded firing missile. He also has a smaller pistol that sits nicely in his holster. Unlike most clones that sport a pair of DC-17 blasters, Commander Gree only comes with one. The difference here is appreciated. (We personally could do without the silly large gun, but if this is your bag then more power to you. Hasbro is obviously trying to impress the kids with these overly large guns.) He has the ability to hold the weapons rather realistically and this is a marvelous task for Hasbro to include in the aesthetically pleasing stature of the figure. Nothing is more frustrating than a figure that doesn’t hold its weaponry. Gree has no issues in this department. He is super-articulated and he was a perfect candidate to receive the incredible articulation. He has excellent posture and can stand very well. His joints are tight and can hold poses perfectly well. As cool as this version of his armor is, it is really quite plausible to believe that there is an intermittent phase in between this style and his appearance in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. It would be nice to know and/or see an evolution phase somewhere in the middle – hopefully this can be addressed in the show and perhaps a change in his look is due to come down somewhere in the series, because the transition between the two styles is very drastic. It seems as if there is a phase that is altogether missing. Despite his drastically different appearance from Episode III, we have to say that this stule of his armor is actually pretty awesome.

But we will leave this surmising alone for now. We don’t want to be responsible for possible spoilers. Commander Gree is finally here and he is such an exciting addition to the line. And he is also a fantastic figure. If we had to criticize anything, it would be his lack of battle-damage – but we have almost come to expect this from Hasbro now (unfortunately). Regardless, Gree will lead your clones well and serve in The Clone Wars line as a formidable protector of good. Plus, you will need somebody to specifically lead your Clone Trooper (41st Elite Corps) army! Collectors will be thrilled to know that Hasbro ensured that the same green paint was used on both figures and this was a great attention to detail. So many times we have received clones where the basic clone troopers were a different color that their leader. This is not true for Gree and his battalion. The clone troopers look absolutely fantastic next to Gree and we are pretty confident you will think so too. You honestly couldn't add a better figure to your collection. And we tend to think that both Original Trilogy and Prequel Trilogy collectors will indeed be adding this figure into their collections. At the very worst, they will be tempted to consider it as a possible candidate. We believe that The Clone Wars toy line is slowly but surely warming the hearts of the hardcore traditional “realistic only please” fan base. With that in mind, we also feel that Hasbro is also doing their part to grasp these collectors. They can gain support by working within a carefully executed ratio of familiar (characters from the film realized into the animated line) and all-new character selections (strictly from The Clone Wars). Give Commander Gree a second or third look if you see him out in the wild. You will be thoroughly impressed with how his The Clone Wars interpretation of him came out! We think it's one of the best 2D to 3D translations yet.